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Sunday, March 22, 2015

Extroverts and writing every day

March has been ticking along nicely, and the idea of Spring turns up here and there. I’ve at least been able to put my snow boots away. (Well, at least moved them from the bottom on the stairs.)

Last week I was fairly busy at the library. There’s still lots to do, but I’m confident that something good will come of our efforts to revamp the place. It’s definitely along the lines of the job I wanted to have when I first started my MLS degree.

Now that I’m working, we’ve been doing some travelling. We went to Edinburgh at the beginning of the month, and next we’ll want to visit York. Steve has been to Europe before, so he wants us to go on some city breaks this year as well.

But the writing, oh the writing. It’s not been happening. The full-time work plus commute is just exhausting, so if I don’t write over lunch or before work, I’ll never get anything done. The problem is, without the consistent writing day after day, it’s hard to get back into the swing of the plot. As is, I can only type down a scene or two without really getting anywhere. On my days off, I can organize and plot things, but getting both the outline and the content to happily coincide is another issue.

Aside from the writing, I need to spend my free time at home with Steve. I feel so relaxed just watching Fail Army on Youtube, or Downton Abbey when I’m by myself. I’ll be super glad for the Easter holidays to turn up so I can have a few days to reboot my goals and feel more like myself again.

When I’m not writing every day, even a little, I do feel like the day’s been wasted.

So am I a “real” writer anymore? I don’t know. I don’t have time to really care. I know that I want to write and I do it when I can. When I’m not writing, I think about writing. I miss it, and when I get back to it, I don’t know where to begin again.

It’s tough work, especially for people who tend to be extroverted. I am an extremely chatty person, but it drains me to be on duty all day. Without the days off and quiet time without a need to leave the house, it’s ten times harder to settle my brain down to work in the middle of the daily routine. All the other important things just distract me way too easily.

Plus, all these books I wanted to get put online and get covers sorted for – that’s been on the back burner for ages. No idea when I’ll ever be able to get any of that done either.

Unfortunately or not, it reminds me of this Anne Rice quote I saw the other day:

I've often said there are no rules for writers. Let me share the WORST AND MOST HARMFUL ADVICE I was ever given by others. 1) Write what you know. 2)You'll have to polish every sentence you write three or four times. 3)Genius is one tenth talent and nine tenths hard work and 4) You're not a real writer if you don't write every day. --- ALL OF THAT WAS HARMFUL TO ME. ALL OF IT. IT HURT AND IT SET ME BACK. ----- So I say again, there are no rules. It's amazing how willing people are to tell you that you aren't a real writer unless you conform to their clichés and their rules. My advice? Reject rules and critics out of hand. Define yourself. Do it your way. Make yourself the writer of your dreams. Protect your voice, your vision, your characters, your story, your imagination, your dreams.